honours of earth are sought by trampling on the rights of others; the honours of God are sought by the increase of human happiness. Earthly honours are unsatifactory when obtained; the honours of God fill the soul with bliss. Earthly honours are transitory, like the source from whence they spring; the honours of heaven are abiding, like their Divine Author.

2, For I am in a srait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."-Phil. i. 23.

HEAVENLY DESIRE.

Behold the Christian where he doubtful stands,
Fast bound to Friends by blooming roseate bands;
He feels the touch of love on earth below,
And yet to heaven straightway would gladly go;
For them, more needful longer here to stay,
For him, far better thus to soar away;

As when safe anchored in some foreign bay,
The ship of merchandize may proudly lay;
The Captain's cleared, with passport, to set sail,
He longs for home, and courts the coming gale
The general interests of the firm demand

His longer service in that far-off land;

He fain would weigh, and homeward point his prow,
Yet to his duty would submissive bow;

This done, he'll trip, and loose the flowing sail,

And homeward scud before the sounding gale.

THE engraving represents an affectionate Father, who, though standing on the world, and bound with the strong cords of affection, yet looks upward evidently longing to depart and be with Christ, which as the Apostle says, is far better. Though he may feel this yet oftentimes he feels strongly bound with the cords of love to remain with the objects of his affection here on earth, to whom his

stay at present seems needful. He, however, does not consider this world as his abiding-place; he has it beneath his feet, he is looking upward, and waiting for his translation to one above.

Thus the Christian stands ready prepared, and longs to depart and be with Christ; but the interests of earth exercise an influence over him and bind him down with the golden bands of affectionate love. When a sinner becomes a saint, his relations become changed, "old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new." A "new heart" is given, filled with love to God and man. A new world is presented full of glorious realities, substantial and eternal. A new God is given, Jehovah is His name. He formerly worshipped the gods of this world. A new Saviour is embraced, who is the "altogether lovely." New companions, the noblest, the wisest, and the best. He is the subject of another King, one Jesus -the citizen of another city which is out of sight, whose Builder, and Maker is God,-the heir of an inheritance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away.

No wonder, then, if he should oftentimes desire to depart in order to possess all this happiness. Wandering on earth, "here he has no abiding city;" a stranger and pilgrim as all his fathers were. Nevertheless, he has interests, affections, and duties of an earthly kind; these have a weighty claim upon him; they are connected with God and eternity. The religion of the Bible, while it strengthens the powers of the intellect, and sanctifies the soul, does also increase the power of natural affection, and makes us capable of the most lively emotions.

The true minister of the Gospel, like the great Apostle, would cheerfully lay down his work and away to Jesus, but the interests of his Master demand that he should stay, and build up the waste places of Jerusalem; therefore he says, " therefore he says, "All the day of my appointed

time will I wait till my change come."

The pious parent, when visited by sickness, would fain regard it as a call to heaven, but the dear pledges of love are weeping round the bedside, and their youthful state demands a faithful guardian. He can only say, "I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is inore needful for you; the will of the Lord be done."

THE FATAL CURRENT

See! where the fatal current, broad and deep,
Rolls its swift waters down the awful steep;
While from below the streaming clouds arise,
And spread and mingle with the distant skies;
Two men, behold! near the tremendous verge,
A moment sinks them 'neath the boiling surge,
One rows for life, he pulls with all his strength,
And from the danger well escapes at length:
The other stops, lays in his oars to drink,
While nearer drawing to the dreadful brink;
His jeers and taunts he still persists to throw,
And sinks unaided down the gulf below.

THE eng aving shows the fatal current hurrying on its rolling waters to the dread abyss; see where the boiling cateract sends forth its cloudy vapours; like volumes of thick smoke they rise and mingle with the surrounding atmosphere. On the stream, and near the fatal gulf, two men are seen in their frail barks.

The one

on the left hand, knowing his danger, pulls with all his might. Life is at stake; he stems the current. By dint of mighty, persevering effort, he escapes the vortex, and gets beyond the reach of danger.

The one on the right, careless and unconcerned, suffers his little boat to glide down the stream; he dreams not of danger.

See!

he has laid in his oars, he is drowning thought by drinking the intoxicating draught. He points the finger of scorn at his more thoughtful and laborious companion. Notwithstanding his unconcern, the stream bears him onward; nearer and nearer he draws toward the awful brink; on, and on he drifts, till all at once, over he goes; and sinks into the roaring, boiling gulf below.

The above is an emblem of what follows: The gulf, with its rising curling vapours, may represent the regions of the damned, where the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. The fatal current signifies the "course of this world" leading thereinto the streams of sin that eventually lead to the gates of death. The man on the left, rowing against tide, represents those who stem the torrents of sin, who oppose themselves to the course of this world, no longer fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, nor of the mind." Eternal life is at stake; they agonize that they may prevail; they endure to the end, and are saved.

The other, on the right, represents one who is indifferent about salvation, who indulges in sin and folly, and who even ridicules others who are striving to serve God. He endeavours to drown his conscience by drinking larger draughts of sin, and by plunging deeper into crime; till, carried onward by the ruling powers of evil, he approaches the horrible gulf, into which he falls, and is lost for ever.

Dead fish may frequently be seen floating down with the tide. The live fish alone stem the torrent, and swim against the stream. So these dead in trespasses and in sin, follow the course of this world; they are borne unresistingly down the fatal stream. But those who are alive spiritually, those whom God hath quickened, oppose the torrent, make headway against it, and, by divine assistance, work out their own salvation, full, and for ever.

The patriarch Noah had, in his day, to swim against the stream. The floodgates of sin were opened; the turgid waters rolled down with fearful violence; truth and justice were well nigh swept from the face of earth. Manfully did he resist the descending torrent. Like a rock, he remained immoveable, and opposed the overflowings of ungodliness. He was preserved.

God himself bore testimony to his righteousness. He was crowned with Divine approbation, and permitted to see the Bow of Promise. At the same time, the multitude, neglecting to stem the tide, were borne away by the waves thereof " down to the gulf of black despair."